Copyright: 06/2012
Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image Productions etc.
Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, this WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story.
Indicates a foreign language
A LOVELY DAY IN THE COUNTRY
The soldiers considered themselves lucky. The weather for the first week in August had been mostly fair and mild. If the men of the 361st had not been in a war, they would have considered it beautiful days in the country. In their down time the men would lie beneath the trees as the soft wind lightly kissed their faces. Life here was almost perfect.
They even had easy jobs doing a little recon; making sure that the Germans hadn't moved into their sector.
The squad had been staying in a place called Droisy. It was a sleepy little village. The people were mostly farmers. They were glad to see the soldiers. The villagers had been kind to the men; feeding them their homemade cheeses and their lovely fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately all good things must always come to an end.
The squad had been there for over a week. Saunders notified the men they needed to get ready for another move. The Sarge was able to find them a ride on a halftrack. The squad thought that it was great and it sure beat walking and not having to watch for the enemy. Not only were they riding in an armored vehicle but it had a pulpit mounted 50-caliber machine gun, what more could a squad want?
The squad hopped up onto the halftrack. They stored their rifles on the racks behind the seats and the extra ammunition and some k-rations in the racks below. The men settled down for a leisurely ride to the town of Saint Colette.
Sarge noticed that the sky had become overcast. A mighty wind began to blow. The trees looked like they were playing Crack the Whip. "You better get out your rain gear. I have a feelin' that we are really gonna be in for it."
The men put on their rain coats. The sky became black as night. Lightning streaked across the sky; at times it looked like the fireworks on the 4th of July. The loud cracks of thunder made the men jump. The pinging sound as the rain pelted their helmets almost drove the men insane. No matter how they tried to keep dry, the rain found a way to wriggle its way down their backs.
Movement was slow going through the storm. The thunder boomed across the land. As the lightning split the sky a large pine tree crashed to the earth. The limb of the tree fell upon the cab and hood of the halftrack.
The squad grabbed their rifles. Littlejohn opened up the rear door and the men scrambled out.
The soldiers heard the swooshing sound of an MG-42 as it open up on them. They all tried to run for cover. The driver didn't have a chance, he was cut down immediately.
Most of the men were able to find cover behind the halftrack. They were returning fire but they were shooting blind.
Caje heard someone scream out, it was Billy. "Kirby, I heard Billy but I don't know where he is."
"I can't see him either, Caje. Let me get under this thing and maybe I'll be able to locate him."
Kirby squirmed his way under the halftrack. He could see Billy lying down holding his thigh. He was almost within reach. Kirby put down his BAR and slowly crawled forward and then stopped. "Caje I'm gonna need your help, we need to pull him under here fast otherwise the Krauts are gonna cut him to ribbons."
"I'll do it," cried Littlejohn. "He's my buddy."
Caje knew he had to do it and not Littlejohn. "I know you want to help him Littlejohn but it's a tight squeeze under there; it'll be easier if Kirby and I do it."
Littlejohn looked crest fallen yet he understood.
Caje crawled under and got near Kirby. They were just a few inches away from Billy.
Caje glanced over at Kirby. "We'll pull him on the count of three; one, two, three."
They grabbed Billy's legs and with all their might they pulled as fast as they could. They ignored Billy's screams. They could see the bullets hitting the ground all around Billy. Caje and Kirby finally had him safely under the halftrack. They again began to crawl out pulling Billy with them.
"Thanks guys." It was the only thing Billy was able to say.
Saunders decided he needed to get up on top so he could use the machine gun. "I need someone to help me."
"I'll do it," said Caje.
The two men threw themselves up inside the halftrack.
The lightning lit up the sky. They finally could see the where the Germans had set up the machine gun nest.
Kirby got back under the halftrack and began firing his BAR. "Can hurry things up? Their takin' all their frustration out on me," yelled Kirby.
It took them a few minutes to locate the ammo. Caje placed the belt of ammunition into the belt feeder. Sarge pulled back and released the handle. The bolt slid into position. He gripped the handles and depressed the trigger and took aim. As Caje fed the ammo; the bullets flew out of the machine gun.
Within minutes the gunfire from the opposite side of the road ceased. Saunders yelled for them to stop firing. It became deathly quiet.
The men came out of hiding. Sarge and Caje stayed up on top. "Kirby you and Littlejohn check things out."
The two men crossed the road. With their rifles at the ready they started checking out the Germans. "Hey Kirby I found one alive."
"Is he badly hurt?"
"He caught one in the shoulder. It's a good thing it wasn't the 50 caliber, it probably would have left the size of a grapefruit coming out."
"The rest are dead. I'll give you a hand Littlejohn."
Kirby walked over to Littlejohn and helped him with the injured German soldier.
"All of em' are dead except for this one, Sarge. Hey Doc we got another customer for ya."
Saunders was next to Billy. "Doc how is Billy doin'?"
"We need to get Billy to a hospital fast, he's lost a lot of blood and the bullet is still in his thigh."
Caje jumped down from the halftrack.
The Sarge walked to the front to check out the damage. "Caje keep an eye on our prisoner. Littlejohn you and Kirby come and help me remove this tree limb."
"Come on Caje let's get Billy and the German in the back of the halftrack. It might be a little drier back there," said Doc. They put the injured men on the floor. Caje looked around to see if he could find something to cover them. He noticed there was something folded in the corner. It was the tarp covering.
Kirby climbed up on top of the hood. He took out his bayonet and started hacking away at the limb. Littlejohn and the Sarge began clearing away the debris.
"I'll be right back Caje, I'm gonna go talk to the Sarge."
Doc walked over to Saunders. "Sarge how much longer, both Billy and the German need a real doctor."
"It'll probably be another fifteen more minutes. After that we need to see if it's even gonna run."
Littlejohn went into overdrive. He kept yelling for Kirby to hurry up. Kirby just kept saying Okay; he understood that Littlejohn was upset about Billy.
They were finally done with the tree limb. Littlejohn removed the driver and gently placed the soldier on the ground. He removed his tag and gave it to Saunders.
Caje saw Littlejohn and the Sarge called out to them. "I found the tarp."
"Give it here, Littlejohn and I will put it on. At this point I don't know how much good it'll do?"
Kirby jumped down and climbed into the cab. He crossed his fingers and said a little prayer as he started up the engine. Kirby took a deep breath as the engine came to life.
Once they were finished with the covering Sarge got in next to Kirby. "I'll ride shotgun."
Saunders turned around in his seat. "Caje do you know if he speaks English?"
"He's been out of it most of the time. He's awake now, I'll ask him."
Caje kneeled down next to the German soldier. "Do you speak English?"
The soldier looked up at Caje. "Nein." "I can also speak French."
"He can speak French, Sarge."
"Caje, ask him what they were doin' out there?"
" What is your name? Why were you out there?"
The soldier shook his head and then closed his eyes.
"Sarge, he's not talkin'."
"Ok Caje, try later."
Kirby could barely see where he was going. "Sarge I can't see anything. I'm tryin' to be careful but I'm afraid I'll run into somethin'."
"Just keep on goin', it'll be alright."
"I hope so, Sarge, you've got more faith in me than I do."
They heard the soldier cry out. "My shoulder hurts. Please help me. I'll tell you anything, please help me."
"Doc will help you. Who are you and why you were out there?"
"I am Grenadier Rolf Vogel. There is a farmhouse about 500 meters north from where we were posted. Oberst Von Wexler is using it as his command post."
"How many men are at the farmhouse?"
"There were ten of us, now there are only five and the colonel."
"Doc he needs something for the pain."
Doc took out a styrette and inserted it into his arm.
"Sarge there was a farmhouse back there and they were using it as a CP. Ahh, Sarge there's a Colonel Von Wexler at the CP with five other soldiers."
"Kirby turn around."
"Sarge we ain't goin' back there, are we?"
Doc gave Saunders a hard look. "Sarge the men need a hospital."
"Doc if we can capture this colonel he might have valuable information that could help end this monstrous war. If everything works out we could be in and out of there in less than thirty minutes."
Kirby threw the halftrack into reverse and started back down the road.
It took about ten minutes to get back there.
"Kirby stop here."
"But Sarge it's about another quarter of a mile from here."
"I don't want them to hear us coming."
"With all this thunder and rain I don't think they could hear the Chicago and Northwestern runnin' right outside their CP."
"Doc you stay here. Do you think you can drive this thing?"
"Yea I can drive it Sarge, why?"
If we're not back within forty-five minutes get outta here. Just make sure the prisoner can't move, tie him up if you have to."
The men loaded up on ammunition. Littlejohn noticed some smoke grenades mixed in with the regular grenades. "Sarge how about some of Willie Pete's?"
"Yea bring em'."
Littlejohn put a couple in his pocket.
The men headed down the road looking for the CP. Kirby was right, there was so much thunder that the Germans wouldn't have noticed the extra noise.
They got back to the machine gun nest.
"Rolf said it was approximately 500 meters north of here," said Caje.
The men slowly walked through the little forest of trees. They had gone about a quarter of a mile when they saw a house that was situated on top of a hill. It was practically all open land between where they stood and the house. The trees extended all the way to the west side of the house.
Sarge decided to stay in the tree line; it was a longer way to get to the CP but it was much safer. The men knew they had to hurry.
Caje was on point when he noticed movement up ahead. He motioned the men down. He slowly moved back to Sarge's position. "There's two, what do ya want to do?"
"Let's take them out."
All four men advanced on the unsuspecting soldiers. Sarge and Littlejohn each grabbed a man while Caje and Kirby thrust their bayonets up into their sternums.
"That leaves only three more plus the colonel," said Caje.
The men were right behind the house. The house had a low sloping roof.
Littlejohn noticed the chimney. "I have an idea Sarge; what if one of us climbed up on the roof and dropped a smoke grenade down the chimney?"
Saunders thoughtfully shook his head. "It's a good idea Littlejohn. Kirby you're the lightest."
"Yea, Sarge, I get the picture." Kirby removed his suspenders and handed them and his BAR to Caje. Caje handed Kirby his M-1.
"When they run out, I'm gonna yell for them to put up their hands. If they open up on us, try not to hit the colonel."
Kirby slung the M-1 over his shoulder. He looked around and found that the lowest section of the roof didn't have any windows. He crawled through the mud cursing Littlejohn's brilliant idea. He got to the lowest part and slowly worked his way up the roof. He quietly walked across hoping that he wouldn't slip and that the men inside wouldn't hear him. When he made it to the chimney, Kirby pulled the pin, dropped it down the chimney. He began to run down roof like the devil was after him but half way down he slipped and slid right off the roof. 'Splatt' was the only sound Kirby made as he ended face down in the mud.
The German soldiers ran out of the house coughing and rubbing their eyes.
Saunders with his Tommy Gun held tightly in his hands yelled at the men. "Hande hoch."
The soldiers put their hands up but could not control their coughing.
He motioned to Caje and Littlejohn to strip them of any weapons. After they completed their task they handed the men their canteens.
Kirby came around the corner of the building. He was trying to remove some of the mud from his face. He was comical mess.
When Caje and Littlejohn saw him they burst out in laughter.
"Awright, I know what I look like. I'm never gonna be clean again. Next time someone else is gonna do it!"
"The rain should help some, Kirby," said Caje.
Kirby was in no mood. "Yea, yea, I know. Here Caje, I'll trade ya straight up. You can have your peashooter back and I'll take back Bertha."
The colonel straightened his uniform giving Saunders and his men a disapproving look. "Your men are not disciplined, sergeant."
"As far as I can see colonel, my men got the job done."
"Very good sergeant; what are you going to do with us?"
"Just tell your men to head in that direction."
The men started walking in the direction that Saunders had indicated.
"I want to voice a complaint, sergeant. My men and I are getting very wet. I want one of your men to go get us our rain coats."
As the colonel stood next to Saunders an explosion erupted from the house.
Saunders smiled as Colonel Von Wexler glowered at him. "Sorry colonel, I'm afraid that my men aren't equipped for fighting fires only Germans. Now if you please, get movin'."
The squad and their prisoners made it back in less than forty-five minutes.
Doc had the sign of relief all over his face. "I have never been so glad to y'all."
"I'm glad we made it back too, Doc."
"Littlejohn, tie them up; watch them like a hawk. Alright Kirby let's go."
The two men got up front. Sarge turned around with his Tommy Gun propped over the back of the seat.
Caje and Littlejohn did exactly as Saunders said; they watched every little move the Germans made.
The colonel looked down and noticed one of his men. "Now I know how you found us. You tortured my man until he broke."
"No colonel we don't do those kinds of things in our Army. He willingly told us about you."
Kirby put the halftrack in gear and moved out as fast as he could.
"Hey Sarge look, we've finally made it. Up ahead is Saint Colette."
"Kirby park this thing near the town square. We need to find out where Lieutenant Hanley has set up the CP."
Kirby pulled the halftrack over to the side of the road. He picked up his BAR and swung around to face the back. Saunders got out of the cab and opened up the rear door. Kirby got out and joined the Sarge.
"OK everybody out. Caje, Littlejohn, hand the prisoners over to MP's. Doc, go get help for Billy and Rolf. Kirby find a shower or you're gonna turn into a clay statue. I'll take care of the colonel. I'm sure my lieutenant and S-2 will want to talk to you."
Saunders knocked on the door of the CP.
"Come in," called Lieutenant Hanley.
"Sorry we're so late sir."
"I was getting worried. Is everyone alright?"
Saunders pulled the tag out of his pocket and handed it to Hanley. "The driver is dead and Billy was wounded in the leg. Everyone else is fine, sir."
"Why were you so late?"
"We had a few problems with the storm, high winds, broken tree limbs and machine gun nests. You know just regular stuff. I hope you're not upset, sir. But just in case you are, I have a little peace offering. Lieutenant Hanley, I would like you to meet Colonel Von Wexler."
Hanley gave a little smile. "Thank you, sergeant. I'll overlook it this time. Now colonel, please have a seat and we'll have a nice little chat.
THE END